GM has been cleaning up its act and has the profits to show for it. But the competition has never been stiffer, all over the world, and GM's cars will have to be top-notch to assure the success of a turnaround.

On Sunday, General Motors announced the sudden "resignation" of its high-profile marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, who oversaw its $4.5 billion advertising budget. So what led to the downfall of this major figure in GM's turnaround?

Or will it disappoint? Investors -- and taxpayers -- will be watching on Thursday, when GM is posts its latest earnings. Despite analyst expectations of a full-year profit, the automaker has warned that fourth-quarter results will fall "significantly" from previous periods.

Back in 2009, General Motors applied to the Department of Energy for $14.4 billion in loans to help it manufacture more fuel-efficient vehicles. Today, with the automaker making big strides in turning around its business, GM said it no longer needs or wants the money.

Now that General Motors is on better financial footing and the automaker's initial public offering of stock is behind it, CEO Daniel Akerson is reportedly seeking to have government restrictions on executive pay eased.

Following General Motors' historic return as a publicly traded company Thursday, President Obama said the U.S. government, despite the many critics, is on track to more than recoup the nearly $50 billion it invested in the Detroit automaker.

Considering where the iconic carmaker has been in recent years, the pending IPO -- and robust investor demand for shares -- is a remarkably positive step. But GM still has plenty of problem spots that will need fixing if this historic event is to have lasting meaning.

It's not unusual for a departing chief exec to maintain some involvement with the corporation he or she led, usually by holding onto or taking a position on the company's board of directors.
That can be a bad idea. Consider GM's Ed Whitacre.

Though vehicle sales have underperformed some analyst expectations in recent months, results are much improved compared to those of a year ago. The industry is seeing a broad trend that is benefiting nearly all automakers.

General Motors is offering some 600,000 employees, retirees and dealers the chance to purchase stock in the resurgent company as the auto giant moves forward with its initial public offering, slated for next month.

The federal government's controversial decision to step in and save General Motors from insolvency was the right thing to do, the automaker's new Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said Thursday in Detroit.

Akerson will need to convince shareholders that GM, which is only a year out of bankruptcy and has posted just two profitable quarters, is a worthy investment. He'll also have to make sure the carmaker's dramatic turnaround is built to last.